A Start in Life [62]
so in this case. Under this supervision,
both petty and able, he was kept to his regular hours and to his work
with such rigidity that his life in the midst of Paris was that of a
monk.
At five in the morning, in all weathers, Godeschal woke up. He went
down with Oscar to the office, where they always found their master up
and working. Oscar then did the errands of the office and prepared his
lessons for the law-school,--and prepared them elaborately; for
Godeschal, and frequently Desroches himself, pointed out to their
pupil authors to be looked through and difficulties to overcome. He
was not allowed to leave a single section of the Code until he had
thoroughly mastered it to the satisfaction of his chief and Godeschal,
who put him through preliminary examinations more searching and longer
than those of the law-school. On his return from his classes, where he
was kept but a short time, he went to his work in the office;
occasionally he was sent to the Palais, but always under the thumb of
the rigid Godeschal, till dinner. The dinner was that of his master,--
one dish of meat, one of vegetables, and a salad. The dessert
consisted of a piece of Gruyere cheese. After dinner, Godeschal and
Oscar returned to the office and worked till night. Once a month Oscar
went to breakfast with his uncle Cardot, and he spent the Sundays with
his mother. From time to time Moreau, when he came to the office about
his own affairs, would take Oscar to dine in the Palais-Royal, and to
some theatre in the evening. Oscar had been so snubbed by Godeschal
and by Desroches for his attempts at elegance that he no longer gave a
thought to his clothes.
"A good clerk," Godeschal told him, "should have two black coats, one
new, one old, a pair of black trousers, black stockings, and shoes.
Boots cost too much. You can't have boots till you are called to the
bar. A clerk should never spend more than seven hundred francs a year.
Good stout shirts of strong linen are what you want. Ha! when a man
starts from nothing to reach fortune, he has to keep down to bare
necessities. Look at Monsieur Desroches; he did what we are doing, and
see where he is now."
Godeschal preached by example. If he professed the strictest
principles of honor, discretion, and honesty, he practised them
without assumption, as he walked, as he breathed; such action was the
natural play of his soul, as walking and breathing were the natural
play of his organs. Eighteen months after Oscar's installation into
the office, the second clerk was, for the second time, slightly wrong
in his accounts, which were comparatively unimportant. Godeschal said
to him in presence of all the other clerks:
"My dear Gaudet, go away from here of your own free will, that it may
not be said that Monsieur Desroches has dismissed you. You have been
careless or absent-minded, and neither of those defects can pass here.
The master shall know nothing about the matter; that is all that I can
do for a comrade."
At twenty years of age, Oscar became third clerk in the office. Though
he earned no salary, he was lodged and fed, for he did the work of the
second clerk. Desroches employed two chief clerks, and the work of the
second was unremitting toil. By the end of his second year in the law-
school Oscar knew more than most licensed graduates; he did the work
at the Palais intelligently, and argued some cases in chambers.
Godeschal and Desroches were satisfied with him. And yet, though he
now seemed a sensible man, he showed, from time to time, a hankering
after pleasure and a desire to shine, repressed, though it was, by the
stern discipline and continual toil of his life.
Moreau, satisfied with Oscar's progress, relaxed, in some degree, his
watchfulness; and when, in July, 1825, Oscar passed his examinations
with a spotless record, the land-agent gave him the money to dress
himself elegantly. Madame Clapart, proud
both petty and able, he was kept to his regular hours and to his work
with such rigidity that his life in the midst of Paris was that of a
monk.
At five in the morning, in all weathers, Godeschal woke up. He went
down with Oscar to the office, where they always found their master up
and working. Oscar then did the errands of the office and prepared his
lessons for the law-school,--and prepared them elaborately; for
Godeschal, and frequently Desroches himself, pointed out to their
pupil authors to be looked through and difficulties to overcome. He
was not allowed to leave a single section of the Code until he had
thoroughly mastered it to the satisfaction of his chief and Godeschal,
who put him through preliminary examinations more searching and longer
than those of the law-school. On his return from his classes, where he
was kept but a short time, he went to his work in the office;
occasionally he was sent to the Palais, but always under the thumb of
the rigid Godeschal, till dinner. The dinner was that of his master,--
one dish of meat, one of vegetables, and a salad. The dessert
consisted of a piece of Gruyere cheese. After dinner, Godeschal and
Oscar returned to the office and worked till night. Once a month Oscar
went to breakfast with his uncle Cardot, and he spent the Sundays with
his mother. From time to time Moreau, when he came to the office about
his own affairs, would take Oscar to dine in the Palais-Royal, and to
some theatre in the evening. Oscar had been so snubbed by Godeschal
and by Desroches for his attempts at elegance that he no longer gave a
thought to his clothes.
"A good clerk," Godeschal told him, "should have two black coats, one
new, one old, a pair of black trousers, black stockings, and shoes.
Boots cost too much. You can't have boots till you are called to the
bar. A clerk should never spend more than seven hundred francs a year.
Good stout shirts of strong linen are what you want. Ha! when a man
starts from nothing to reach fortune, he has to keep down to bare
necessities. Look at Monsieur Desroches; he did what we are doing, and
see where he is now."
Godeschal preached by example. If he professed the strictest
principles of honor, discretion, and honesty, he practised them
without assumption, as he walked, as he breathed; such action was the
natural play of his soul, as walking and breathing were the natural
play of his organs. Eighteen months after Oscar's installation into
the office, the second clerk was, for the second time, slightly wrong
in his accounts, which were comparatively unimportant. Godeschal said
to him in presence of all the other clerks:
"My dear Gaudet, go away from here of your own free will, that it may
not be said that Monsieur Desroches has dismissed you. You have been
careless or absent-minded, and neither of those defects can pass here.
The master shall know nothing about the matter; that is all that I can
do for a comrade."
At twenty years of age, Oscar became third clerk in the office. Though
he earned no salary, he was lodged and fed, for he did the work of the
second clerk. Desroches employed two chief clerks, and the work of the
second was unremitting toil. By the end of his second year in the law-
school Oscar knew more than most licensed graduates; he did the work
at the Palais intelligently, and argued some cases in chambers.
Godeschal and Desroches were satisfied with him. And yet, though he
now seemed a sensible man, he showed, from time to time, a hankering
after pleasure and a desire to shine, repressed, though it was, by the
stern discipline and continual toil of his life.
Moreau, satisfied with Oscar's progress, relaxed, in some degree, his
watchfulness; and when, in July, 1825, Oscar passed his examinations
with a spotless record, the land-agent gave him the money to dress
himself elegantly. Madame Clapart, proud